The head of Cleveland’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS), Marcus Perez, is back leading the office following a decision that he didn’t violate city harassment or discrimination policies. OPS is responsible for investigating resident complaints against police and other department employees.
The Civilian Police Review Board voted unanimously on the issue during a special meeting on Feb. 27. The nine-member review board, which oversees the office, met with the city law department for nearly three hours to review a city investigation into an employee complaint filed in November. The employee accused Perez of discriminating against women and “targeting” Black women in the office.
It was the fourth complaint filed about Perez since he started the high-profile police accountability position in May. In August, the board assigned Perez management coaching in response to a different complaint that accused him of yelling at an employee in front of six witnesses, including the city’s labor relations manager.
Perez has consistently denied the discrimination allegations. Signal Cleveland reached out to Perez, who declined to comment on the board’s decision. The 25-page report prepared by the city’s human resources and law departments did not include a recommendation for the board. It summarized interviews with Perez and 11 other employees related to the issues in the complaint.
Prior to Perez joining OPS, the agency was without an administrator for nearly 18 months. The work is key to police reforms required under the city’s consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2021, voters approved a charter amendment that moved oversight of the office from the police department to the review board.
The office has struggled with case backlogs and high staff turnover.
Multiple employees complained to the city or resigned within weeks, calling conditions at OPS “untenable” and Perez’s leadership style “abusive.” After the fourth complaint was filed, Perez voluntarily went on paid leave for six weeks as the city investigated. He returned to work on Jan. 2 but wasn’t in the office, directly supervising staff or attending board meetings.
Before the board issued its decision, member Brandon Brown said that Perez was “dealing with the friction of remedying a past culture” at OPS.
“He’s not doing it in the best manner,” said Brown, who added that he thinks Perez needs help “re-establishing the status quo.”
Some “internal preparations” are needed before Perez can physically return to the office, according to Board Chair Billy Sharp. Once Perez is back in-person, his coaching sessions will resume, Sharp wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland.
Perez denied issues raised in complaint
Perez hired a new office manager, Abby O’Neill, in August of 2023. After a few months on the job, O’Neill said Perez yelled at her in front of multiple witnesses, prompting her complaint to the city’s human resources department on Nov. 16.
During an interview, O’Neill told the city that she was “frightened” and that Perez “lacks the ability to be appropriate in the office.” She was the first employee hired by Perez to submit a complaint. The previous complaints were filed by people who were hired under past leadership.
When she was hired, she said human resources gave her the impression that OPS was dysfunctional and she’d need to help “fix” the office. Prior to joining OPS, O’Neill was a county library employee for over 20 years.
O’Neill told city human resources officials that Perez’s behavior has made her job difficult.
Perez is “very conspiratorial and believes staff are working against him,” according to the complaint. Perez made O’Neill feel that “nothing she ever does is right” and that her “skills do not measure up,” she told human resources.
Perez told city officials that O’Neill didn’t have the skills listed on her resume and that she’s made some mistakes as a leader.
She described Perez’s behavior as “misogynistic” and “racist” because he treated women employees – especially Black women employees – differently.
“Other employees who are white and/or males have performance deficiencies … but are not treated in the same manner,” she told human resources in November.
O’Neill said that she’s witnessed two of the new OPS investigators – both women – leave Perez’s office in tears. Perez and both investigators denied the crying, according to the city’s investigative report.
O’Neill also said she believed Perez was targeting the two office secretaries based on their race and gender. Both secretaries – Sylvia Grimes and Toni Pierson-Shanks – are Black women.
When interviewed by the city, Grimes said she hasn’t experienced racist behavior by Perez but said he treats women “differently.”
Pierson-Shanks told investigators that Perez treats everyone with disrespect but is particularly rude to her, Grimes and two of the OPS investigators who complained about Perez. Pierson-Shanks also denied that Perez’s behavior toward her was racist.
Generally, the women in the office shared a mixed picture of Perez’s behavior toward women.
During an interview with the city, Perez denied the accusations and said that “these complaints stem from his attempt to hold OPS employees accountable to the city’s rules, policies and procedures.”
The report raised questions about other performance issues within OPS. For example, there was finger-pointing amongst Perez and staff about who is responsible for case delays.
Although her complaint to the city was anonymous, O’Neill said she felt retaliated against shortly after going to human resources.
“I’ve been boxed out,” O’Neill said, adding that she’s been left out of meetings and stopped hearing back from other stakeholders involved in police oversight work in Cleveland. She said she strongly believes in the important work at OPS, but that the office is “lost” in these personnel issues.
“I’m not looking for trouble. I’m just looking to do my work,” she told Signal Cleveland.
Note: This article has been updated to reflect that O’Neill said human resources employees – not Perez – gave her the impression that OPS was dysfunctional.